This was a long wait. I apologise. I've almost finished exams and obviously, they do take priority. I should be back to regular writing soon! This is also not a great chapter, please please don't crucify me
Stiles pounded his fist against the air, hitting the invisible barrier Hermione had created with…magic?
Fucking hell.
Stiles knew he shouldn't be all that shocked, considering his best friend had been part of the supernatural for a little while now. Not to mention Deaton himself was a druid. But this was unlike anything he'd ever seen before.
And not only was Hermione magical, she was facing off with some sort of grotesque beast.
A beast Stiles couldn't protect Hermione from.
He watched, terrified as Hermione spoke to the creature, treating it as if it were nothing more than a naughty pet. What on earth was she doing? Questions raced through Stiles' mind yet he was just drawing blanks.
The creature lept suddenly, and Stiles barely registered Lydia's scared shout as his own heart lodged in his throat. He watched, Scott holding his shoulders back, worried that Stiles would (futilely) try to break through the constructed barrier.
Hermione dodged deftly, spinning on her heel and with a crack, managed to reappear the other side of the creature. She smirked and shouted.
"Flipendo!" A lilac light shot out from the tip of her wooden stick- a wand? - and the creature flipped back into the air, skittering further back from where Stiles stood. The creature let out a loud, wretched wail and stood again, Hermione responding with another nonsensical word.
"Stupefy!" The creature barely dodged the light in time, trying to reach Hermione through a sudden barrage of words and lights that fell from her tongue as she moved around, further and further away from the group that were stood, waiting with bated breath.
The creature flung itself at the young woman and the two seemed to tumble down, its large tail swiping as it let out a roar into Hermione's face, about to seemingly bite her head off, when she yelled one last time.
There was a thud and a silence.
"Hermione?" Stiles shouted. Hermione and the creature had moved about thirty feet or so away from them. All Stiles knew in that moment was that the beast was on top of his friend and that there were no sounds or movements.
The barrier that seemed to separate them flickered in a soft pink light, before dying.
One step, then two, and then Stiles was at the creature, calling for Hermione. He noticed, first, the gaping hole in its head; the blood and rancid stench made the young Stilinski want to vomit.
It was dead.
Stiles shoved the creature off Hermione's body, kneeling beside her as she lay, a few grazes and gashes on her skin, and her lip burst.
"Hermione?" Stiles whispered brokenly. He'd just gotten her better again, only to lose her now? Not a chance.
"I'm here, Stiles. I'm here." Came the soft, hoarse whispers from his once-pen pal. Stiles let out a relieved sound as Hermione's eyes flickered open to give him a soft, tentative smile. Stilinski let out a whoop of laughter, pulling her up into his arms and embracing her tightly; he could feel Hermione bury her face in the crook of his neck and chest before he placed his chin atop her head, sighing in relief.
"Fuck, you had me worried there." He whispered, pulling back to look at her not in anger, but in worry. Hermione's own eyes glistened.
"I'm sorry…for worrying you, and for, well…" Hermione trailed off, biting her lip and she shrugged awkwardly. She gestured to herself. "All this. I guess the cat's out of the bag, now."
"Nah, more like the wolves are out of the cages." Stiles quipped, giving her a forgiving grin as Hermione snorted, her eyes moving to the rest of the pack; the auditorily-gifted members groaning at the pun.
Hermione slid away from Stiles, standing up. She felt the teen stand beside her as she moved to the rest of the pack, her gaze hesitant but blatantly refusing to hide or shy away in shame.
"Anywhere we can go to talk about this?" Hermione asked, looking more towards Derek when she saw the pack to the same.
"We can talk at the loft." Hermione nodded, spinning her focus back to Scott.
"Get me the address and I'll meet you in there in two hours. If I'm really explaining everything, then I'll need to get some stuff from Stiles'. Collect anybody and everybody you want in the know."
"Does that include my Dad?" Stiles asked, and Hermione nodded with a smile. "Anybody that can keep a secret and knows about your supernatural capabilities." Hermione clarified.
"Stiles, I want you to go with them, okay? I have some stuff to do." Hermione added, noticing the look Stiles gave her. "I just need to collect some stuff and it'll be easier for me to get it done quickly if I do it alone." She insisted.
Stiles let out a long-suffering sigh. "I suppose." He conceded, finally. Hermione grinned, ruffling his hair.
"Thank you, Daisy!" She grinned, hearing Stiles exclaim behind her as she twisted, disappearing with a loud crack.
Stiles turned to the stunned pack, sighing and raking a hand through his hair.
"Why did she call you Daisy? Your name is Stiles" Malia asked.
Stiles groaned as a few snorts turned into full blown hysterics.
This was going to be a long couple of hours.
They'd made it to Derek's loft with a lot of time to spare. After the pack had (finally) calmed down, Stiles had texted Hermione the address.
They'd also rallied together everybody they figured had a right to be in the know. Deaton was on his way, as were Melissa and the Sherriff in his squad car. Chris Argent was also getting there, having been finally allowed to take Allison home after her long stint in a coma.
A coma that was my fault. Stiles couldn't help but think. How could he not blame himself? It may have been a creature first-possessing then- copying his body, but it was still his hands and his words that caused all those deaths at the hospital…Aiden's…and then nearly Allison's too. He was a monster, and no matter how many people tried to tell him otherwise, he knew that it was all his fault.
Allison probably hated him right now, and he wouldn't blame her whatsoever.
He'd managed to stave off the guilt and self-doubt and sheer hatred for himself for a while, what with Hermione around, but he knew these feelings wouldn't remain buried for long.
They had snuck up on him, like a vicious viper ready to poison his skin like he poisoned the world around him with his presence.
"You okay?" Scott asked, sliding into the seat next to him. Stiles had managed to find a quite spot to perch and brood. Stiles nodded, shrugging noncommittally.
"Yeah, sure. I'm fine." Stiles responded, trying his best to sound casual.
"Stiles. Even without being a werewolf; you're my best friend. I know when you're lying to me."
"I swear, I'm fine. You don't need to worry about me, Scotty." Stiles insisted.
Scott bit the inside of his cheek for a moment, paused in thought. He leant closer, his voice softening.
"Is…is this about Hermione?
"No, of course not! I mean, I'm worried, but no. I'm A-Okay."
"…Allison?"
"..."
"Stiles, you don't need to-"
"To what, Scott?" Stiles questioned, his eyes wide and mouth set into a straight line. Scott's heart lurched for his friend-cum-brother.
"You say you don't blame me. None of you do. But you should. I hurt her, I could've killed her, I killed so many people, Scott. I wouldn't blame anyone for wanting me gone."
"Stilinski, that's possibly the dumbest thing I've ever heard from your mouth." A female voice, slightly strained but familiar and strong cut in before Scott could respond. The boys turned their gazes and gasped.
"A-Allison?" Stiles stuttered, watching the girl that stood near them, half-supported by Isaac, Chris Argent only a few paces behind and hauling a few bags with him. She pushed away from Isaac's protective hold to stand in front of him, arms akimbo.
"Don't you dare, Stiles." She huffed, bending down to meet eye level with him. She continued to speak, gaze never straying from his eyes as she repeatedly poked his chest, punctuating every word.
"Don't you ever blame yourself for anything that happened with the Nogitsune. Your body is not you; you are your soul. And it was not your soul who did those things, and it's not your fault the Nogitsune was able to do those things. You were stronger and resisted longer than anybody else would've been able to. Don't you dare." She finalised, seeing Stiles' eyes shining slightly with unshed tears.
"I don't blame you. Ethan doesn't blame you for Aiden's death." She added, voice softer this time.
"And hey Stiles, really, all this was Mom's fault," Kira added softly, from her place at Scott's side. Stiles hadn't even realised, but all his friends stood around him or sat by him. Stiles looked around him. Not one face held a trace of loathing or pity.
Just concern.
Stiles nodded slowly, conceding, truly, to forgive himself.
Allison perked up and smiled. "Now, can I please have a hug from my only non-supernatural best friend?" She asked. Stiles grinned up at her, opening his arms. With a laugh, she held him close, squeezing him tightly. Stiles' chest grew warm as the rest of the pack started to conglomerate there in the embrace, the short hug turning into a moment of family and comfort.
Scott. Allison. Lydia. Kira. Malia. Isaac. Erica. Even Derek had joined the hug at some point; all finding relief and collectively healing together. As a pack.
Click!
"This is possibly the most adorable thing I've ever seen in my life. It's sickening." The sudden, unwelcome voice pierced through the sincerity of the moment and the pack broke apart.
"Peter?" Lydia growled, eyebrows furrowed. She loathed the man. She was never certain whether he was a good, misguided guy, an asshole, or an evil bastard.
Considering her past experiences with him, she leant towards the latter view. Derek stood and growled, his eyes flashing blue even as Chris re-appeared, Deaton now at his side, both poised and ready to fight if needs be- though Stiles did wonder how useful Deaton would truly be.
"You're not welcome here, Peter," Derek growled.
"Really? You'd kick me out before an important meeting, after everything we've been through together?" Derek raised an eyebrow.
"Are you kidding me!" Lydia screeched, arms crossed and glaring daggers at him. "Get. Out."
"Guys-Maybe, maybe we should give Peter the benefit of the doubt," Scott interjected, head tilted to the side as he thought; ever the mediator. Stiles glared at him.
"I agree with Scotty-boy!" Peter proclaimed.
"Scott, are you insane? He's a manipulative, sneaky, lying, asshole and you really want him in on this meeting?" Stiles exclaimed, pulling at his hair. "Did you lose fifty IQ points between this morning and now?"
The argument seemed to escalate from there, even as Noah and Melissa arrived. The only ones that weren't getting involved at that point were Erica- who didn't really care- and Deaton, who thought all the arguing was pointless.
"How long have they all been at it?" Melissa asked, raising an eyebrow towards the veterinarian. Deaton sighed loudly.
"About twenty minutes, by now. And I'm pretty sure they're not even arguing more than just hurling insults at each other."
"What should we do?" Erica asked, her eyes more attached to her phone than what was going on- well, she was recording the whole thing for later, but that was beside the point.
"Let them fight it out. I don't doubt that Hermione's appearance will cause them all to quieten down, even if Stiles just doesn't want to wrap Hermione up in the argument." Noah responded, moving to the kitchen, casually observing as he grabbed a drink. (Thank god for open plan living spaces.) (1)
As if by magic, there was a loud, piercing shrill emanating from the door. Hermione stood, leaning against the doorframe as she lowered her hand from her face.
"I knocked several times. For a bunch of wolves, I'm honestly appalled by that." She snarked.
There was a soft giggle from behind Hermione.
"Aunt Mynee, these people are making funny faces." Came a soft voice. Hermione's face became gentle as she reached behind her, picking up a small toddler.
Stiles' eyes bugged out.
The kid had blue hair.
"I hope you don't mind," Hermione said as she moved forward, the child on her hip as if it was the most natural thing in the world.
"I'd only popped back to England to grab a few books but Andromeda looked like she needed a night off and Teddy is my nephew. I did say I was going to talk to some werewolves and he just got so excited and wouldn't stay at home." She smiled sheepishly. Teddy smiled brightly, and everybody noticed Melissa's soft "awh" at him.
"Yeah- no- that's fine." Derek stumbled and Hermione smiled brightly.
"Is this everybody that needs an explanation?" Hermione asked. Stiles moved forward, glaring at Peter.
"Almost. I think we have one too many here at the moment." Stiles huffed. Hermione rolled her eyes.
"I can judge that for myself," Hermione stated with a keen gaze before she moved to look at Peter. "I don't know what's happened with you all, but if you'll allow me to take a quick peek I can properly ascertain whether it's okay to let you in on the secret, Mr…"
"Peter Hale, sweetheart. You can peek all you like." He winked, still eyeing Teddy slightly awkwardly. The kid had blue hair, after all.
Hermione rolled her eyes again- it seemed she was doing that a lot lately- as she felt everybody around them tense up at Peter's flirting.
"Okay. Teddy, sweetheart, can you go grab a seat for me?" She asked him, placing him down and ruffling his hair as he nodded and ran off, hair changing to a bubble-gum pink as he moved to the sofa.
"Okay. Sit down, Mr Hale. This won't hurt-"
"Dammit"
"-But it will feel odd. Ready? Legilimens." She whispered, staring straight into his eyes. Both sets of eyes became unfocused and glassy for a few moments before Hermione stepped back. Peter slumped slightly in his chair, panting.
"H-How did you?" He trailed off with a gasp.
"He stays," Hermione said, much to Stiles' chagrin. That was tempered slightly when Peter received a bruising slap.
"That's for Stiles. Trust me, you deserve a lot worse. But you still get to listen in." She finished firmly, before twisting back to a slightly gobsmacked Derek.
"is it okay for me to change the space a little bit?" She asked, removing the wand from her arm holster. Derek nodded dumbly as Hermione moved away.
With a few flicks of the wrist, golden streamed poured from the stick, eliciting a gasp as Teddy clapped and giggled. A large, round mahogany table took place with matching cushioned chairs.
"Take a seat, everybody." She smiled, moving to sit. She placed a small beaded bag on the table.
"Now, I had to pull in a lot of favours to get the non-disclosure agreements sorted. You have to understand that my people take secrecy extremely seriously. Protecting our people is paramount. Thankfully, most of you are supernatural and thus should've been made aware of our world long ago. Sadly, even today society thinks little of were-beings, especially Type C's. That is to say, were-beings with no magical leanings or capabilities for magic. These contracts, once signed, makes you physically unable to share this information with anybody outside of the magical community, unless in the case of a life-or-death emergency."
Hermione announced. Stiles was sitting next to her at this point, Derek on the other side as everybody's focus fell onto the young woman.
That didn't change, even as she shoved her arm, elbow-deep into the bag and rifled for a few minutes. Large crashes and clangs filled the air, the obvious source being the bag itself as she huffed and swore quietly, before hissing an unintelligible word.
Sighing in relief, she pulled a large stack of papers out of her bag, passing them around with a flick of her wrist, not bothering with her wand at this point.
"Now, down to the bones of the matter." She continued. "I'm a witch."
Dun Dun...dun? idk that was anticlimactic but I wanted to get opinions out now.
1) Suspend your disbelief as to what Derek's loft looks like, I don't think we've ever seen the ktichen and in anycase, I honestly can't remember.
I wasn't 100% sure about including Peter but I lowkey love him so oh well.
Also, any ideas for other ships? Obviously Stiles/Mione is endgame, but other ships? Can be within fandoms or cross-fandoms and tbf I want there to be at least three LGBT character 'ships in this. So I'm up for nearly anything.
I also added in Teddy bc a good Hermione fic includes Teddy and he DOES have a small part to play in the plot.
Idk. This is another chapter I'm not proud of. I'm not good at writing fight scenes. Or just writing i guess. But I hope I did Allison's reintro well, as well as seeing the pack starting to heal.
LIAM WILL BECOME A PART OF THIS FIC AS WILL THEO SO DROP SUGGESTIONS OF THINGS I COULD DO WITH THEM (I.E. Ships, Hermione's relationship to them.)
Lemme know what you think and drop any suggestions down :)